Is this your lucky day? Announcing the winner of our Kyoto book and DVD giveaway!

Did you enter our recent contest to win “Exploring Kyoto” and “Kyoto—Heart of Japan”? Well, now’s the time to find out if you’ve won!

In order to get your hands on these cool prizes, we asked you to tell us—in no more than 200 words—what you’d do if you had 24 hours to spend in Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital. And boy, oh boy, did you have a lot of daydreams to share.

It was legitimately hard to choose just one winner from the ENORMOUS pile of entries we received, but after much debating, emailing, and to-ing and fro-ing, we settled on an entry that really caught our imaginations and was positively packed full of Kyoto goodness.

A big congratulations toLeong Li Theng from Malaysia— you’ve won both “Exploring Kyoto” and “Kyoto—Heart of Japan”! Go and check your inbox because we’ve just sent you an email!

Here’s the answer that filled our hearts with Kyoto spirit!

“It would be absolutely awesome if I had 24 hours in Kyoto!

I’m gonna use the time to the fullest so no hotel booking is required.

First, I’ll start off with the number one ranked destination, Fushimi-Inari Shrine with its bright red torii gates. A selfie there for my profile picture? Check!

Then, I’ll try out the local delicacies such as Inarizushi which is said to be made of Seasoned Tofu, after paying respect to the God of Rice.

Without further ado, I’ll take the subway to The Philospher’s Path and explore all the shrines along the route, as the unique architecture of each and every shrine always captivates me.

As I made my way towards the end of the path in Kiyomizu-Dera, I’ll get to experience walking in between rows of traditional Japanese shops in Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. Maybe try on a Kimono there if time permits!

After sunset, the remaining thing to do is to check out the convenience stores which are vastly different from the ones in my country. There I’ll have enjoy my every last minute shopping and purchase some souvenirs.

I bet this will be my most unforgettable memory in my life.”

Congratulations again, and commiserations to those of you who weren’t so lucky this time round. There will be more contests soon (and, hey, maybe you entered our competition to win Pikachu ramen? The winners of that will be announced very soon!), so stay tuned!